Bon Voyage Nikita!

The Kansas City Zoo is throwing a BIG party to celebrate our BIG bear. With a larger than life personality, Nikita will certainly be missed at the Kansas City Zoo. Wish him well at his going away party on Saturday, December 19.

How much do you know about this bear that has called the KCZoo home for five years? Test your Nikita knowledge with our Nikita Trivia Quiz and then collect your prize. Create a polar-rific craft in the lobby and head to the Polar Bear Passage to hear from Zoo Keepers who know Nikita best. At 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. they will share their favorite memories with this rock star polar bear. To cap off the festivities, Nikita will be receiving a very special barrel. Since barrels are his favorite enrichment item, Zoo Keepers have covered the barrel with cards that Nikita’s biggest fans have given us. No party is complete without a take home favor. Be sure to grab the special Nikita souvenir before you leave the Zoo!

After you bid Nikita farewell, stroll to the Helzberg Penguin Plaza and see Santa dive with penguins. It’s the final weekend to see St. Nick don a wetsuit under his traditional red one and swim around with our feathered friends. Find out what they think of his stocking cap and fluffy white beard when Santa Dives with Penguins from 11 to 11:30 a.m. Capture a family photo with our underwater Santa!

We will be celebrating Nikita right up until the moment he heads South. Watch the “ball drop” to him at noon on New Year’s Eve and wish him well in the new year. On Saturday and Sunday, January 2 & 3, we are giving Nikita one of his favorite things, ICE! See him roll around in three tons of ice one final time before he says goodbye to Kansas City.